


No Use Fighting Fate

by CuteAsANewt



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Soulmate AU, background muffy, tarty exes, tyrus endgame
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-10-29 07:53:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17804039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CuteAsANewt/pseuds/CuteAsANewt
Summary: On your 16th birthday, the first words your soulmate ever says to you appear on your wrist.TJ and Marty have been dating for a while. But when Marty turns 16 and finds out Buffy is his soulmate, TJ and Marty have to learn how to be there for each other as they each discover their soulmates.Tyrus/Muffy endgame.Tarty B.E.E.Fs





	No Use Fighting Fate

**Author's Note:**

> This was written as a gift for a fanfiction for the Valentine's Day gift exchange on tumblr

TJ absentmindedly ran his fingers through Marty’s hair as they sat on his couch watching a movie. Feeling Marty yawn against him, TJ took out his phone to check the time. 11:32pm. 

“Hey,” TJ nudged Marty lightly with his elbow. “Don’t fall asleep yet, we have less than half an hour left.”

It was the night before Marty’s sixteenth birthday and Marty invited his boyfriend over to be there when he got his soulmark. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but Marty’s anxiety continuously rose with each passing minute, pulling them closer to his birthday, closer to finding out once and for all if the boy he was currently pressed up against is destined to be with him.

Marty sighed deeply as he looked up at his boyfriend. TJ’s face looked kind and patient as Marty’s eyes wandered over every small detail, attempting to memorize the way his hair flopped against his forehead, the way the corners of his lips turned up slightly when he was relaxed, the way his eyes lit up every time they met Marty’s. Marty leaned forward and gave TJ a soft but quick kiss, trying to enjoy the feeling of his boyfriend’s lips against his own while also attempting to accept the fact that he may not kiss TJ again after tonight. 

“I don’t know if I wanna see it.” he mumbled after pulling away from the kiss, his eyes still closed.

TJ wrapped his arms around Marty’s torso, pulling him in tightly. He took a minute to smell Marty’s hair and plant a kiss on his temple before responding. “Hey, we’ve talked about this. No matter what happens tomorrow, we’re not going to lose each other, alright?” He felt Marty nod. “And if tomorrow someone else’s words are on your wrist, and I’m not your soulmate, that’s okay. Because you’ll still be my best friend. And no matter what, I’m going to be happy for you. Figuring out who your soulmate is is supposed to be exciting, Marty! I don’t want to ruin that for you.” he paused and took a shaky breath. “I’m gonna be happy for you.” he repeated, as if trying to convince himself.

“Easier said than done.” Marty buried his face deeper into TJ’s shoulder as he spoke. “God, TJ, I really want to say I’m sure you’re my soulmate. But I’m not sure. And, I’m scared.”

Both boys sat silent and still for a beat. TJ didn’t want to admit it to Marty, but he was scared too. 

“I mean, you remember the first thing I ever said to you, right?” TJ finally broke the silence.

Marty snorted and said with the best TJ impersonation he could muster, “Dude, why did you eat that fucking frog?!” 

TJ chuckled. “And you really want that tattooed on your wrist forever? If I were you, I’d be hoping my soulmate is anyone BUT me!”

Both boys broke into laughter, relieved that some of the previous tension was gone. But just as soon as it started, their laughter stopped as TJ’s alarm went off. Marty felt a slight burn on his wrist as TJ turned off the alarm.

“Do you want to look?” TJ prompted.

Marty shook his head no.

“Do you want me to look?”

Marty swallowed the lump in his throat. “Can we look in the morning? I just- I’m really comfortable right here. Can we just stay like this for tonight?”

TJ kissed the top of Marty’s head. “Of course” he mumbled into his hair. 

The boys drifted off to sleep tangled in each other’s limbs.

The following morning, TJ woke up alone on Marty’s couch. He groggily took in his surroundings before calling out, “Marty?”

Marty walked out of the kitchen with a couple bowls of cereal. “Morning.” he greeted TJ, passing him one of the bowls. 

TJ hesitantly took the cereal, noticing Marty’s furrowed brows and slight frown. He felt anxiety rise in his chest. He tried to make eye contact but Marty refused to look at TJ. “Happy birthday…”

“Thanks…” 

“You looked already, didn’t you?”

Finally Marty met TJ’s eyes and he nodded, holding out his right arm. TJ gently flipped it over and pushed up the sleeve, revealing the words “I think you would know if you knew me.” TJ did his best to keep a straight face. He kept reminding himself that he knew this was a possibility. Hell, he knew it was likely if he’s being honest. But that didn’t make it any easier. 

“Do you know who it is?” TJ asked.

“Buffy.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh.”

* * *

 

Four months had passed since Marty’s birthday and TJ thought he was doing a pretty good job just being Marty’s friend. With TJ’s encouragement, Marty showed Buffy his soulmark and they began dating almost immediately. 

And TJ was happy for them. Really, he was. That’s what he told himself as he sat at a park table attempting to catch up on some late math homework while Marty and Buffy played a one-on-one game a few yards away. He looked up when he heard a shriek followed by fits of laughter. Their game had somehow morphed into a tickle fight. A sour taste filled TJ’s mouth as he thought about how disgustingly perfect they were for each other.

“I’m no expert, but that doesn’t look like basketball to me.” 

TJ smiled at the familiar voice approaching his table. He watched Cyrus shake his head at the scene unfolding on the basketball court. “No” he agreed, “but it’s Marty and Buffy, what do you expect?” 

“Ah, to be young and in love.” Cyrus sighed, but then he noticed TJ’s smile falter slightly at his words. “Sorry. I know it’s probably not easy for you.”

TJ waved his hand dismissively. “Eh don’t worry about me, Underdog. No use fighting fate, right? Besides, we all know it’s stupid to date before getting your soulmark. But when have I ever not been stupid.” TJ chuckled.

The crease between Cyrus’s eyebrows deepened. “TJ, you’re not stupid. You shouldn’t put yourself down like that.”

TJ rolled his eyes but gave Cyrus a weak smile. “Yeah, you’re right. But it was stupid. I knew the chances were slim that we’d be soulmates, but, well, I’m a simple guy. A cute boy shows interest in me, I date him.” 

Cyrus shook his head and laughed, and TJ couldn’t stop the wide grin stretching across his face at Cyrus’s reaction. He always loved making Cyrus laugh. 

“Yeah, I can’t blame you for that.” said Cyrus, “I’d probably do the same. That is, if any cute boys ever showed interest in me, which they don’t.”

“Hey! What did you JUST tell me about putting yourself down?”

“I never claimed to be a role model.”

“Cyrus Goodman! I don’t want to hear you saying mean things about yourself. Besides, you’re a total catch! I bet dozens of cute boys are interested in you. They’re just smarter than me and are waiting to see what they’re soulmark says. You should be getting your mark soon though, right?”

Cyrus shook his head. “Three more months. What about you? I don’t think you’ve ever told me when your birthday is.”

TJ shrugged. His birthday was the day after tomorrow but he’d been trying not to think about it. After Marty got his soulmark, TJ lost all desire to get his. “I don’t like making a big deal out of my birthday. And I especially don’t want to make a thing over my sixteenth.”

“Really? Why? I’m dying to get my soulmark! Aren’t you curious?”

“Eh, I’ve got more important things to think about right now. Like getting these late assignments in so I can stay on the team.”

“Want some help?” 

“Yes, please.”

Cyrus scooted closer to look over the worksheets. TJ ignored the burst of electricity he felt course through his body when their knees touched under the table and instead tried to focus on Cyrus explaining logarithms. 

* * *

 

The night before TJ’s birthday, he hadn’t meant to stay up to see his soulmark. He hadn’t meant to look at it at all.

But he couldn’t fall asleep and instead found himself watching vine compilations while lazily shoving cheese puffs in his face. He was just starting to drift off into sleep when he felt an itchy and burning sensation on his wrist. 

In his half conscious state, he went to scratch it and froze when he saw the words. He was immediately transported back to the time he heard those words. The memory played out in his head like he was watching a movie. He felt like someone dumped a bucket of ice water over him.

“Oh my god.”

Without thinking, he grabbed his phone and called the only person he wanted to talk to in that moment.

Marty picked up after the third ring. “Dude, do you know what time it is? We have school tomorrow.” the groggy voice said on the other end.

“It’s Cyrus.”

“What?”

“My soulmate! It’s Cyrus!”

“Wait. It’s your birthday? How did I not know? Happy birthday, man!”

“Marty! Focus!”

“I’m trying dude, you kind of caught me off guard here!”

“I don’t know what to do.”

“I mean, it seems pretty straightforward to me. Tell Cyrus.”

TJ combed his fingers through his hair, tugging at it slightly. “I can’t just TELL him! I mean, what, I just go up to him and say ‘hey you’re my soulmate! Surprise!’?”

“I mean, yeah, that’s exactly what you say.”

“But how do you drop that bomb on someone? What if he just feels obligated to be with me because he’s my soulmate but he doesn’t actually like me?”

He heard Marty chuckle on the other end. “Dude, that’s not how it works. If he’s your soulmate then you’re his soulmate. He’s going to actually like you.”

“But what if it doesn’t work that way? What if there’s a fluke in the system and his soulmate is someone else?”

“Well then that would be a first! Dude, why are you finding problems where there are none? I’ve never seen you this freaked out before.”

TJ sighed. “I don’t know. I guess it’s just, after, ya know, you and Buffy… I kind of stopped caring about this whole ‘soulmate’ thing. I figured I’d get my mark but ignore it and just go on about my life like normal. But, it’s Cyrus. And...” TJ opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to find the right words.

“And you would do anything for him.” Marty supplied.

“...Yeah.”

“And when you got your mark and remembered the first time he spoke to you, you realized you’ve felt that way since you met. You realized you’ve loved him this whole time.”

TJ sighed, taking in what Marty was saying. He was exactly right. “I’m sorry Marty. I didn’t really realize it when we were together, but-”

“Don’t apologize TJ. That’s how it was with me and Buffy too.”

“Oh.” TJ wondered if he should feel jealous or betrayed. He didn’t. He just felt overwhelmed, mostly. He’s known Cyrus for so long. How did he not realize sooner?

“And Cyrus definitely feels that way about you, too. You’re HIS soulmate too, TJ. You need to tell him!”

“I don’t want to just blurt it out though. When I tell him, I want it to be special.”

“Once again, he’s your soulmate. You don’t need to come up with some big elaborate scheme to win him over.”

TJ smirked. “I may not need to, but I want to. It’s what Cyrus deserves.”

“TJ Kippen, since when are you such a romantic? You were never this sappy when we were together. You’ve gone soft.” Marty teased.

“Whatever. I can still kick your ass in basketball AND track.”

“Ah, there’s the TJ I know and love.”

TJ smiled into the phone. It had been too long since they’ve talked like this. He heard Marty yawn.

“I guess I should let you go back to sleep. But, thanks. For everything.”

“Hey, don’t mention it. I love you, man.”

“Love you too. Goodnight.”

“Night.”

* * *

 

Over the following week, Marty took every opportunity to bug TJ about telling Cyrus. He cornered him in the locker room after basketball practice on Thursday.

“I just don’t get why you haven’t told him yet!”

TJ shrugged. “It just hasn’t been the right time. I’ll know when it’s the right time.”

“Is that just some bullshit excuse because you’re afraid of rejection? Because I’ve told you a million times, he’s not going to reject you!”

TJ rolled his eyes. “It’ll happen when it happens. This whole soulmate thing is fate afterall, isn’t it?” 

“Okay but you better tell him soon. I already told Buffy.”

“You WHAT? She’s his best friend!”

“Calm down, Buffy can keep a secret. But obviously I can’t. It’s only a matter of time before it gets out…”

“You’re the worst.” TJ groaned.

Marty grinned and patted TJ’s chest as he walked out of the locker room. “Love you too!”

TJ wasn’t afraid of rejection anymore. In fact, his interactions with Cyrus this past week made him more confident than ever that Cyrus reciprocated TJ’s feelings. TJ took every chance he got to shamelessly flirt with Cyrus. Every morning that week he presented Cyrus with a muffin while saying “a muffin for my muffin”. It was cheesy as hell but it never failed to make Cyrus blush and bite back a smile. TJ thought he would never be able to get enough of seeing Cyrus make that expression. It became almost a game to him to get Cyrus to blush as often as possible. He smiled and winked at Cyrus every time they passed in the halls. He increased the amount of heart emojis he used when texting. He couldn’t be near Cyrus without throwing an arm over Cyrus’s shoulder, or making their hands brush together and feel Cyrus’s fingers twitch with a longing to grab the other boy’s hand. TJ wondered if Cyrus would ever be bold enough to actually grab his hand.

It just so happened that Cyrus was bold enough. It was Friday afternoon and the boys were on the swings. Cyrus was quieter than usual.

“You okay, underdog?” TJ dropped his hand so it was dangling between their swings. Cyrus almost immediately followed suit, their hands brushing together lightly as they swayed back and forth.

Cyrus sighed. “Buffy’s been acting weird. She’s just said some confusing things recently.”

TJ froze for half a second before regaining his composure. “Oh? Like what?” he held his breath as he waited for Cyrus’s answer.

Cyrus shrugged and, to TJ’s surprise, reached out to grab onto TJ’s hand. TJ forced himself to breathe as he slowly started rubbing the back of Cyrus’s hand with his thumb. They continued to sit in silence. The only things TJ could hear were the creaking of the swings and the pounding of his heart.

TJ was still trying to calm down over the feeling of Cyrus’s hand in his when Cyrus broke the silence.

“It’s stupid to date someone before you have your soulmark, right?”

TJ looked up to find Cyrus already staring at him. 

“I mean, not to bring up painful memories” Cyrus began rambling, “but it must have been just awful when Marty got his soulmark and it wasn’t you. Was being with him worth it to put yourself through that pain? Oh god, that sounds so insensitive, I’m sorry! But I just really like this guy and lately he’s been acting like he likes me too and Buffy said something that made me suspicious but I don’t have my soulmark yet and I don’t think this guy does either and I don’t want to put myself through all that heartbreak if we’re not soulmates but GOD I want us to be soulmates.” 

TJ was frozen in place. Cyrus must be talking about him, right? This is it, TJ thought. This is the moment I tell him. TJ tried to remember all the flowery and heartfelt confessions he’d practiced in his head over the past week. He couldn’t remember any of them. But Cyrus was still staring at TJ expectantly and he noticed Cyrus was squeezing his hand tighter. TJ had to say something.

“I got my soulmark.” TJ cringed at himself.  _ Smooth, TJ _ . He thought.

Cyrus dropped his hand. “Oh?”

“My birthday was on Sunday. I got my mark.”

Cyrus looked down at his lap and swallowed. “Do you know who it is?”

“ _ I didn’t need this extra level of embarrassment. But, no. _ ”

Cyrus looked bewildered and a little disappointed as he looked up at TJ. “It’s nothing to be embarrassed about, TJ. Most people don’t know who their soulmate is before they get their mark.”

TJ shook his head. This was not going the way he planned it. “No, Dummy. That’s what my mark says!” He pushed up his sleeve and showed Cyrus his wrist. “That’s what you said to me in the cafeteria that day when I asked if you could get your own muffin, remember? The first day we met?”

Cyrus stared at TJ’s wrist with his mouth wide open. He seemed frozen. TJ felt himself begin to sweat. This was really not going as planned. If it were entirely in TJ’s hands, he would be carrying Cyrus bridle style to The Spoon while covering his face in kisses right about now.

“Um. Cyrus?”

Cyrus blinked hard and shook his head. “It’s me? I’m your soulmate?”

TJ nodded cautiously. He hadn’t felt this nervous since his birthday. “Are you disappointed?”

That seemed to break Cyrus out of whatever spell he was under. “Are you kidding? TJ, I- I’m so happy! I’m shocked! I didn’t think you had your mark yet, I thought- oh my god. Oh my GOD. TJ! We’re soulmates!” 

Cyrus’s smile seemed to cover his entire face and TJ was sure he looked about the same. He let out a laugh full of nerves and excitement. “We are!”

“Can I hug you?” The question had barely passed through Cyrus’s mouth before he found the seat of the swing swept up from underneath him as TJ engulfed him in an embrace, picking him up and spinning them in a circle. Cyrus clung onto TJ’s neck as they spun and laughed. Without thinking, Cyrus tugged TJ’s neck tighter and pulled him into a kiss. TJ leaned into the kiss but they soon broke apart, full of smiles and laughter and excitement. 

TJ pressed his forehead against Cyrus’s. “I’m so happy.”

“Me too. I’m so glad it’s you. I’m surprised but also, it feels like I’ve known this whole time on some level, you know? This just makes sense.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” TJ leaned in to kiss Cyrus’s cheek before pulling away and extending his arm, offering his hand for Cyrus to grab. “So, taters on me?”

“TJ Kippen, are you asking me on a date?”

“Is that a yes?”

Cyrus rolled his eyes and grabbed TJ’s hand. “That’s a yes, dork.”

“You love me.”

“I do.”


End file.
